-- *Mar*Absolutely. Here's a *one-act drama* inspired by your original essay and the themes of ecological awareness, emotional disconnection, and the hope for a new kind of education.
This play is suitable for a *college or high school stage performance*, or even as a *script-reading* event in an ecological or educational setting. ------------------------------ 🎠*Title: The University of No Walls* *A One-Act Play* *Theme*: Ecological awareness, education reform, emotional intelligence *Cast*: - *Professor Viraj* – A retired academic turned ecological philosopher - *Meera* – A young university student, bright but disillusioned - *Ravi* – A driven business school graduate, skeptical of nature-based learning - *Maati* – A silent forest guide; speaks only through gesture and movement - *Voice of the Forest* – A recorded or off-stage voice, poetic and symbolic ------------------------------ 🌳 *Scene: A clearing in an untouched forest.* There are no buildings. A few large rocks form a natural circle. The sound of birds, wind, and leaves fills the air. *Lights up.* *(Professor Viraj is sitting cross-legged on a stone. Meera enters, carrying a backpack and a phone. She looks around, confused.)* ------------------------------ 🔹 Scene 1: Arrival *Meera:* Is this... the university? There’s no gate. No timetable. No orientation folder. *Professor Viraj (smiling):* You’ve arrived. That’s all that matters. Welcome to the University of No Walls. *Meera:* No walls... okay. So when does the first class begin? *Professor Viraj:* It already has. You're standing on the first page of your new textbook— *soil*. ------------------------------ 🔹 Scene 2: Skepticism *(Ravi walks in, dressed sharply, holding a tablet.)* *Ravi:* I took a wrong turn. I was looking for the Environmental Economics workshop. Is this some kind of spiritual retreat? *Professor Viraj:* It’s a university. But not the kind you’ve known. *Ravi (half-smirking):* Where are the professors? *Professor Viraj:* You’re standing next to one. And the others are already speaking. *(He gestures to the trees.)* *Ravi:* Trees don’t teach balance sheets. *Professor Viraj:* No. But they teach balance. ------------------------------ 🔹 Scene 3: Questioning the System *Meera:* I was studying environmental policy. But everything felt so... lifeless. We spoke of forests like numbers. Rivers like data points. No one ever asked me how I *felt* about nature. *Professor Viraj:* Because feeling is not profitable. Emotion slows the machine. And the modern university trains machines. *Ravi:* What’s wrong with machines? Efficiency builds civilization. *Professor Viraj:* And disconnection destroys it. *(Maati enters silently and offers Meera a seed.)* *Professor Viraj:* Your first lesson. *Meera:* What do I do with it? *Professor Viraj:* Sit. Observe. Feel. Plant it if you're ready. Or not. There are no instructions. Only attention. *Ravi (frustrated):* You’re telling me this is education? Sitting with a seed? *Professor Viraj:* It is the beginning of unlearning. The most radical form of education. ------------------------------ 🔹 Scene 4: Revelation *(A long pause. The lights dim. Sound of wind rises. The Voice of the Forest speaks, gentle but powerful.)* *Voice of the Forest (off-stage):* You are not above me. You are not outside me. You are me. When you forget me, you forget yourself. When you poison me, you suffocate your own breath. Remember. Not with your mind. With your roots. *(Meera closes her eyes, visibly moved. She plants the seed.)* ------------------------------ 🔹 Scene 5: Transformation *Meera (softly):* I’ve never planted anything before. It feels... real. *Professor Viraj:* You’ve just enrolled in the first true course: *Relating to Earth 101.* *Ravi (quiet now):* What happens if we all start learning this way? *Professor Viraj:* Then perhaps, we will stop conquering the world... and start caring for it. *(Maati walks to center stage and gestures upward. Light filters through leaves like a cathedral. A moment of silence.)* ------------------------------ 🕊️ *Final Scene: The New Curriculum* *Professor Viraj (to audience):* Let there be a university that teaches stillness before movement. Wonder before analysis. Listening before answering. Let there be places where students learn not just to calculate the value of trees, but to mourn when one falls. Let education be a return. To breath. To soil. To self. *Lights dim as bird calls echo and soft forest sounds rise.* *Curtain.* ------------------------------ 🎓 *End of Play* ------------------------------ ✅ Optional Extensions: - Can be expanded into a *two-act play* with student transformations over time. - Can include *chorus roles* for the Voice of the Forest or the trees themselves. - Ideal for an *eco-theatre production*, educational campaigns, or youth activism events. ------------------------------ Would you like a *printable script*, *character notes*, or help preparing this for *performance or submission to a drama festival*? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CACDCHCLtAheYfX8Ad%3Ds8UvnLPqd5Vi2bwA3tGOWhU1%2Bj1QzZiQ%40mail.gmail.com.
